The day with dianne Louise

For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each person should examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in respect to someone else. For each person will have to carry his own load. Galatians 6:3-5 How easy it is to be deceived if we have a false view of ourselves. If we fail to know ourselves then we fail to have insight and understanding and therefore become overly emotional and hurt ourselves. What gives you your view about who you really are? Is it others? Self? God's word. If my view of me is based on God's word then I have an opportunity to be balanced, especially if I accept that view and live out of it. On the other side we can have a greater view of ourselves than is actually true and be destroyed by deception. What to do? Get to know God's word! Amen!

Carry one another's burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 Think of that brother or sister who annoy you and then pray God's best upon them. As you pray for what you see you are carrying the burden of that person. Our natural fleshly self wants to criticize and pull down but as Christians we have an opportunity to build up. From experience, as I pray about the things that annoy I see change, I am empowering that person to overcome. As I pray I praise The Lord that the person is even more than an overcomer, in fact a success. Amen! This way I see change and not defeat, I release the power of the Holy Spirit.! This process does wonders for my attitude.

Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching our for yourselves so that you also won't be tempted. Galatians 6:1 Ever had a sour thought come into your head about someone else and have it take root. Do you know why it takes root? Because there is fertile soil. Huh? Yes you already have an unresolved issue with that person. Best to get that issue resolved or you will have another one to deal with. I had this happen just today, well no it actually turned up last night and I thought about it for a while them gave it to The Lord and asked Him to show me what to do. Today I went to work and the person being accused turned up cheerful and happy. The enemy wanted to tear him down. After a struggle and a decision to be nice instead if nasty the issue went away. My bible tells me to resist the devil and he will flee. Amen! None of us are perfect and usually rhI don’t say that to scare you. I say i...

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit. We must not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-25 Wow! So much beauty can come from walking in the Spirit. We must admit that a person controlled by The Spirit is a beauty to behold and a joy to know. As opposed to the works of the flesh in verses 19,20 these fruits are desirable. And the last: self-control along with the first: love, can extinguish all the works of the flesh and produce the remaining fruit which are a blessing to all. We are told in verse 24: now those who belong to Christ crucify the flesh. This does not sound like we go easy on our flesh but rather we kill it and this is only possible as we stay connected to the vine ( ...

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. ... Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 Now we already know that legalism is not the way, but now we see the opposite, licentiousness also will cause us to NOT inherit the kingdom of God. I cannot call sin freedom and I cannot call law salvation. There is a line between the two and I can only traverse it as I keep my eyes on Christ. For He is the way, the truth and the life. Amen! We cannot take a little sin and call it righteousness. A drop of ink in a bucket changes pure clarity to a murky grey. White is white and black is black. Just because a sin is hidden this does not sanctify it. Lets come into the light and allow Christ to be Lord! Amen!

I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; they are opposed to each other, so that you don't do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under law. Galatians 5:16-18 Our flesh is unholy and it desires all sorts if nasty things. It hates, lusts, is lazy, arrogant and rude and wants to be spoiled, permanently. Therefore to be a Christian we have a battle on our hands. Do I live for the nasty self-centered beast or a greater cause? On our own we can never defeat the flesh. We might discipline it with routines and good habits but the flesh will only become pompous and rude and quite religious. Walking in the Spirit is anathema to the flesh. We, in ourselves do not know how to do it. How then do we walk in the Spirit? We can't be in busy mode, we have to be in rest mode and need to wait on The Lord. Waiting on anyon...

For you were called to be free, brothers; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: live your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. Galatians 5:13-15 Everybody has in their own mind what freedom represents. However, when Jesus said: ' if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed' He had a divine plan. The Lord told us that:' our ways are not His ways and our thoughts are not His thoughts'. Gods freedom comes as we yield all to Him. Yet man's idea if freedom is doing whatever he wants. True freedom is found in yielding all, the total opposite of what man believes. Our enemy has propagated the lie that says: ' if I am truly free I am my own boss'. This is far from the truth, we are incapable of holiness on our own. Righteousness only exists in Christ. Apart from Chris...

Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don't submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 Do you remember what you were enslaved to? I remember being isolated from Christ and struggling to find a way to be close. Keeping the law was impossible and wanting to be close through law keeping never worked and only intensified the dilemma. As a Christian I see the work if deliverance as a continual process. As I trust and yield more of my old ways I am made freer than ever before. To go back to my old ways is like walking back into prison and locking the door myself. I must stand in the liberty that Christ won for me. I am blessed! I do not have to win the victory, just stand in what I have been given, by faith. Recently I witnessed a young woman being re-baptized and God gave me this scripture for her. If she had understood what had been given is like a precious jewel she would have treated it so. If she had ears to hear what God was saying to her she would r...

But in the past, when you didn't know God, you were enslaved to things that by nature are not gods. But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back to the weak and bankrupt elemental forces? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? You observe special days, months, seasons, and years. I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labour for you has been wasted. Galatians 4:8-11 In the OT book if Hosea, the prophet was told by God to take a prostitute and marry her. The couple had several children together but Hosea's wife kept going back to her former life. Their relationship represented the tribe of Israel who was also being unfaithful, self-satisfied, proud, trusting in man rather than God and involving themselves in injustice, murder, theft, lying and oppression of the defenceless. Sound familiar? The Galatians had not gotten to injustice etc but they were on a slide away from grace. Why do we keep doing this ad nauseaum? If w...

Now I say that as long as the heir is a child he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. Instead, he is under guardians and stewards until the time set by his father. Galatians 4:1,2 Although this scripture is a part of a passage dealing with the fact that although Christ, our inheritance, was yet to come and we were under the guardianship of the law I would like to look at another angle. I believe God has much for us for we are promised many things but the is a timing of all things. Lacking maturity can hold the provision up. And just as a child tries to hurry up the growing up process and are unable to do so. We have to walk the distance in our own lives until provision in a particular area is manifested. We will only frustrate ourselves and lose faith if we want what is ours before we are ready for what is ours. The prodigal son wanted his inheritance early and although he received it, he squandered it because he was not mature enough to handl...

When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba, Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:4-7 What freedom! What a release! Born as a slave and now adopted as a daughter of the King of Kings! How grateful am I! As an heir my Father speaks to me of blessing me with ALL that is His. Continually he asks me to look at Him and not my circumstances. As I look at Him I see answers, provision, blessing! Amen! How great is our God! Amen!

For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ as a garment. Galatians 3:29 What a lovely example. We can relate to this. Each of us clothe ourselves daily, often after showering, sometimes not. Jesus does not require us to shower because He cleanses us and we 'put' Him on and live in Him, our robe of righteousness. I do not have to be good enough to wear clothes, I just put them on. However, because I want to look my best I will shower. I can put all my trust in my Christ garment to make me clean and presentable. As I walk in Him I am acceptable to Him and church family. If I do work I work out of faith in Him and He provides me the grace to do that work. He is my righteousness! Amen!

Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:23-26 A guardian is a substitute for the parents. The guardian may be helpful but cannot love and relate like the parent. The law spelled out the goodness of God and what was required to please Him however, keeping the law, or should I say trying to keep the law proved futile, it was an impossible task. Therefore relationship with the Father was impossible because sin in us caused us to break the covenant. But now there is a better way. Christ redeemed us, He bought us back, so that our relationship now centres on the goodness of God and not our ability to keep the law. Much better!

Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and told the good news ahead of time to Abraham, saying, 'all the nations will be blessed through you'. So those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith. Galatians 3:8,9 How cool is this? The whole bible is interwoven by a wondrous God. Way back, thousands of years ago, God developed a relationship with an ordinary man called Abraham who was willing to follow God from his comfortable home out to a land where, for all the remaining years of his life he lived in a tent. God promised the 75 year old man that he would be a father of many nations when he had no natural children if his own. God really tested Abraham but he became a man of faith and he believed that God's promise would come to pass, and it did, 25 years later. Now Abraham was a man of faith and therefore our forefather because we are asked to accept the salvation Christ offers us, by faith. Abraham had to learn th...

You foolish Galatians! Who has hypnotised you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified? I only want to learn this from you: did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you going to be now made complete by the flesh? Did you suffer so much for nothing- if in fact it was for nothing? So then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you. By the works of the law or by hearing with faith? Galatians 3:1-5 Sorry folks! We all need to face this at some time. We have all been caught in works because we all have the same enemy. There just are times when he pounces. One is when we have been walking well and we have a huge win. He rushes in and encourages to go, in the flesh, and with adrenaline pumping, without thinking we do, and he is laughing. Another is when we've had disappointment and he accuses us of not doing enough and we listen and work harder. ...

I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. Galatians 2:21 For years I struggled to be righteous by following the law, and failed. I grew up a Catholic and I was a zealous Catholic but did not have a relationship with my God then like I do now. It took for Him to reveal Himself to me. With the revelation of Relationship came the grace of God, His grace enabled me to see my sin and repent, wholeheartedly. The peace that one event gave me was the most precious of all. I know I cannot be righteous by keeping the law, I tried it for 19 years but I have lived grace for 40 years and am still grateful. I cannot go back into bondage for anything or anyone. Yesterday I saw a post on Facebook about a woman who had had stage 3 breast cancer and lived. She said that career was not all there was but how good a person was. I felt sad because she is on another wrong path. Being 'good' might satisfy temporarily but it d...

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:19,20 Imagine you have been in a horrible accident and are now in danger of dying. You desperately need a new liver and unless an organ donor is found you will die. As the days progress you begin to fade and your hopes are almost gone when a miracle happens. A man, in the same hospital, dies and he is found to be a match for you. His family are reluctant to give up his liver but they come to visit you and when they meet you they have mercy on you and give permission for the organ donation. Your operation is a success but now you live because of another mans liver. You are forever mindful on how close you came to dying. You live because of someone else. Today you are eternally alive because a father gave His permission that you might have His Son's lifeblood and be forever set free. H...

For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. Galatians 2:19-21 Because I am in Christ, and He fulfilled the law and died under the law, I am free from all the law demands. As I walk in faith in the finished work of the cross I walk in His grace. I do not desire things of the flesh as I walk in grace but rather things if the spirit. Because He has set me free I am grateful and want fellowship with Him not the works of darkness. If I want to fellowship darkness then grace is not alive in me but rather law, which produces death. This is a good litmus test. At any time I can look and see how I am walking by the grace test. Am I receiving and giving grace or am ...

I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the good news about the Messiah. Galatians 1:6,7 The Galatians were troubled by something all Christians will be tested with: works not grace. Our enemy knows that if he can distracted us with our guilt; inadequacies; shame he can motivate us to earn righteousness that has already been given, freely. For by grace we have been saved and are being saved, continually by grace. Salvation is our gift from a God who loves us, without measure. It cost us nothing and Him everything. We are loved so passionately, we cannot begin to imagine how we are loved, yet all we have to do is say 'yes' continually, daily. We turn away when we are deceived into doing so, yet to return all we have to do is turn, completely and give our heart again and again and aga...

Grace to you and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will if our God and Father. To whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5 As I read the above I see the verse: ' to rescue us from this present evil age.' Today I am aware that our 'age' is evil. We are faced with a society that is giving up normal affection between male and female for same sex marriages; we are seeing men and women rush from one relationship to another in maddening speed. Sex is not sacred to the vast majority of society, neither is honour for parents. As the bible puts it: ' in the last days men will be lovers of self and lovers of money'. Yet Jesus has come as our deliverer. Having a relationship with Christ and placing that first and foremost in our lives, allowing His word to be truth, will keep us safe. The world has a lot of competing voices and most relate to lust for that which...

Now to Him who has power to strengthen you according to my (Paul's) gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent for long ages but now revealed and made known through the prophetic scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith among the nations- to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ- to Him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 16:25-27 He has the power to strengthen you. All that is His is made available to you. You only have to ask and it will be there. By defeating death and taking the keys of death and hell He, Christ, conquered over all the works of our enemy. That means He has authority folks! I can either believe my feelings or choose to believe His word. As I apply His word to my life, speaking it out over my life, change occurs. The strongholds of the enemy shatter and fall and the truth about who I am emerges. The truth about the gospel had been hidden for cent...

The report if your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good, yet innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Romans 16:19,20 What a great record! Wouldn't it be good to receive such a letter from a man in Paul's standing. How does obedience happen? Endurance, persistently choosing to listen and follow the voice of one who has authority to lead. There is great blessing for those who have ears to hear what God is saying through good leaders and choosing to follow. We cannot always discover God's direction for ourselves especially if we are new to the faith or in great distress and pain. By training our ears to hear and our feet to follow we do ourselves a great service. By tuning out all the noise and by focusing on Christ and His calling we will not be disturbed by every voice that demands authority. Choose wi...

Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause dissensions and obstacles contrary to the doctrine you have learned. Avoid them, for such people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words. Romans 16:17,18 There are people who are trouble makers and tools of the enemy. If we find ourselves hurt, wounded, sick and vulnerable, they swoop in. Therefore, it is important that we have a safe-guard around us, made up of good, Godly friends who will speak truth into our lives. Being a Lone Ranger is not clever. Staying in church and well connected is another protection. Having a leader we can trust and discuss openly any matter with is a must. Finally, don't be drawn off to strange gatherings, keep everything in the loop. A fox picks off the isolated chicken and young lamb. Don't isolate! Stay connected!

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of The Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 Hope comes as you experience Christ. As you see His steadfastness, His faithfulness; as you experience His love and know His word is true, hope comes. And this hope will not disappoint you. As we understand this hope joy comes, along with it peace. How good to know we are accepted, not because of works we do but because He has loved us. The love of Christ is simple yet it fills all corners of our beings if we let it. In other words it is comprehensive, complete, lacking nothing. May you go forward today knowing you are loved and not judged. Amen!

Therefore accept one another, just as the Messiah also accepted you, to the glory of God. Romans 15:7 I suppose if you were a slave trader and came to Christ you would know how great is God's mercy. John Newton, author of song Amazing Grace, was such man. However if you grow up in a good family without exposure to the vile things of life, your attitude would be different and perhaps it is harder to recognize your sin. The broken are the choice staff for Saddleback Pastor, Rick Warren. He states that only the broken know and understand the suffering and can therefore minister. Only those who recognize their sin can reach out in grace to others. Accept one another! Amen!

For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through encouragement from the scriptures. Romans 15:4 If we are able to accept, by faith, that the bible is the word of God to us who believe then it is a source of blessing to us. Before I had come to know The Lord, as my personal saviour, I respected the bible but it did not make sense to me. I had to take the first step and invite The Lord into my heart. When I did that He brought His torch so that I could see and understand. I bought a simple version of the bible, a paraphrased version (a modern day equivalent would be The Message Bible), and began to read. It came alive to me. Today my bible is my spiritual food, as I read my spirit is built up, my soul is washed clean and daily I am renewed. The Old Testament introduces me to the saints of old and prepares me to meet them in eternity. The New Testament introduces me to Christ, He was, and still is, a n...

Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us must please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even the Messiah did not please Himself. Romans 15:1-3 If we be honest this is foreign in our selfish world, yet it is only as we get out of ourselves and help others do we truly come alive. We who call ourselves Christians should live out of our life with Christ not independent of Him. Bill Gates posted an interesting mention on Twitter Bout a woman in Ghana who, last year, immunized 10,000 children against polio. He posted a U- tube clip in which the woman said each day she prays that God would use her to help the children. That is 27 children every single day of the year. This woman is living Christ to her country and her behavior spoke to a man way outside her world, a powerful, rich and influential man, yet she was a lowly woman in Ghana. We might think that what we can do, wha...

So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another. Romans 14:19 The preceding verses have been dealing with eating and not eating. I could imagine that those who were Jews would still have issues around what was clean and what was unclean. This had caused criticism among the believers. There will always be issues that we don't all agree on. What is good for me may not be good for you. There are churches where drinking of alcohol is prohibited and others where it is allowed. Who is right? If you come from a family or personal history of abuse then abstinence would be importance. However, you experience dictates that and should not be laid upon others. There are other examples, in fact a multitude of examples. The key is that love must prevail not opinion. Amen!

Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but don't argue about doubtful issues. Who are you to criticise another's household slave? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand. For The Lord is able to make him stand. If we live, we live for The Lord. Christ died and came to life for this: that He might rule over the dead and the living. But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we all stand before the tribunal of God. Romans 14:1, 4,8-10 If I have the mind if Christ then I do not want to criticize because Christ never did. If I have the mind of Christ I will not entertain gossip. There are plenty of nasty spirits floating around wanting someone to express their opinion, why be their puppet? Why not walk in the spirit and put to death the works of the flesh? If I am grafted into the vine then the blood if the vine courses through me, I am one with the vine. I become like the vine by accepting its flow. As I...

Beside this, (love does no wrong to a neighbour) knowing the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us walk with decency as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarrelling and jealousy. But put on The Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy fleshly desires. Romans 13:11-14 This is it folks! Put on Christ! He redeemed us, bought us with His blood, we are not our own any more. We are Christ followers, He did not mix flesh and spirit so neither should we. Strengthen the limbs that hang down, get up and shine the light you have inside. Amen! Daily we must choose life, daily we eat breakfast for our flesh so daily we must choose the word of God for our spirit and soul. Get up! Defy laziness! Rebuke self-pity...

Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments: Do not commit adultery Do not murder Do not steal Do not covet And whatever other commandment- all are summed up by this: love your neighbour as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbour. Love, therefore, is the fulfilment of the law. Romans 13:8-10 How can we add to this? Love is the ultimate. Genuine love, God's love, is the best an purest love, there is no flesh in it, pure spirit. If we want to know what this love looks like we need to read 1 Cor 13. This is love, unadulterated. John tells us: 'little children let us not love in word or in tongue but in deed and in truth.' True love has fruit, it is tasty, it breaks bondages, it brings new life. Amen! I live out in farm land country and twice a year farmers harvest. The Lord of the harvest comes looking for fruit and if He finds it, He prunes, if He doesn't He chops. Eith...

Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God's command, and those who oppose it will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. ....and for this reason pay your taxes, since the authorities are God's public servants, continually attending to these tasks. Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honour to those you owe honour. Romans 13:1-7   Now, this was written by a man who was put to death by the then governing authority, Rome. Jesus was put to death by the Roman force.   There are times when  Christian needs to discern when not to obey, for example being told not to preach the gospel or to abuse or destroy others, as we have seen in many parts of the world.   Howev...

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honourable in every one's eyes. Romans 12:17   Currently, In Australia there is a series running on TV called Revenge. I do not watch it but have seen glimpses. What sort of message is this sending?   My bible tells me that God says vengeance is His. In other words revenge is not for me to contemplate.   When something unfair, unreasonable, unjust happens anger rises up in me and frustration that I do not know what to do, until I come to my senses. I have to give it over and pray and trust.   I have seen God's vengeance as I yield the right and what He does I could not orchestrate, but it is Him.   If I entertain evil, then I have become a prisoner of evil thoughts and potentially evil practices. My insides then begin to rot.   To do what is honourable, that is, turn the other cheek, speaks volumes to onlookers. I did that once and my mother saw me and commended me. I did not th...

Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud, instead associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Romans 12:16   Paul's letters to churches and individuals are full of instruction on being in agreement, humility and getting along. Obviously they had the same problem we have, our flesh gets in the way.   Not only Paul but James, Peter and John all encourage us to love one another. In fact all of the epistles are instructive. We have plenty of counsel to assist us.   Where do we go wrong? We ignore wise counsel or fail to listen to or to read wise counsel. Why? Perhaps we have become proud and indifferent.   What to do? Repent, humble ourselves and pray. The answer is always simple. Our Lord promises to come to us when we humble ourselves, it is up to us.   Humbling ourselves is attractive to the Lord and we experience His presence. It is worth applying Christ to Christianity. Amen!  

Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15   How can we rejoice except we be in agreement?   Do you experience people at church, who you don't really have much to do with, who have a reason to be very happy and are bubbling all over the place? How do you handle them? Do you turn away and ignore them, think little of them?   For example: I once had been on a service team with a woman who was prone to talk and not work. She had been away for a healing convention and had been healed. She came to the area to work and stood and talked the whole time. I struggled, as I am a worker. I found it hard to rejoice with her, when obviously the reason for her jubilance was enormous. The challenge was to encourage this lady to do, while talking. It was impossible as she was unable to do both.   Weeping is something some people are very good at, they do it a lot and can make others impervious. What do we do with such people?   P...

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Romans 12:14   Ouch! Are you being persecuted? Have you been persecuted?   My definition of persecution is wide, from worst to least: Physical abuse, mental abuse, spiritual abuse, condemnation, vilification, gossip, maligning your character, vindictive verbal attacks, ostracision, rejection, hatred, dislike, envy, jealousy.   Ever been persecuted? I think we could all say, at one time, at one hand, we have been persecuted.   So, Paul tells us to bless these people. How do we do that? Possibly the simplest way would be not to retaliate, not to gossip back, not to defend ourselves, not to allow hatred and revengeful thoughts enter our head and heart.   This is a challenge when we will have a whole lot of people fuelling the fire with: 'Did you hear?'; 'Did you know the latest?'   I have this happen in my life and I invariably will hear things that could inflame my heart, however...

Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. Romans 12:13 Who are the saints referred to here? Definitely not those canonised by the Catholic Church, they are long gone. The saints are fellow believers; local and distant. Saints are not only those wonderful souls who always seem to be doing good, but they are fellow, blood washed Christians. Scripture tells us not to ignore their plight and send them away empty handed by just saying:'God bless you brother.' If a need comes to light then what can we do about it? Cook a meal, clean, buy groceries, mow the lawn, give money. We do not have to instantly relegate the responsibility to the church with:' why that's what I pay my tithe for!' We are the body of Christ and if the need is revealed to us then perhaps God is asking us to assist. The next point is: pursue hospitality, not, if you absolutely must, provide hospitality. Pursue means: ' run after, chase'. Like a man pursuing a woman. M...

Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Romans 12:12 As I have written in a previous blog about Hope; hope is the experience of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Hope sustains us when we are stretching out in faith, it is the guard rail as we walk the treacherous path. I need to take time to remember God's faithfulness to me, His unfailing love and rejoice, Hope is my comfort, my security knowing that 'no weapon formed against me will prosper', as I stand in His faithfulness. Hope enables me to be patient in affliction. Why do I need to be patient? I need patience to wait and see the goodness of our God. He is there for me! As I am patient I see the scripture: ' All things work together for good, for those who love God.' (Romans 8:28) If I am impatient I will go in my own strength and probably make things worse or injure myself further. I must be persistent in prayer. Jesus taught the disciples to pray without ceasing. He us...

Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve The Lord. Romans 12:11 What is my life all about? Me? No, there is more! As a Christian I have a new centre of focus. Jesus said: seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things: food, clothing, stuff, will be added unto you. So if I am, diligently, seeking the Kingdom of God then He takes care of the rest? Pretty much, yes! What is diligence? Determining the path and walking it, again and again and again trusting Him. There is another part to this: serve The Lord. So, not only do I seek His Kingdom, I serve Him in His Kingdom here on earth. How do I do that? Do everything as unto The Lord, allow Him to be Lord of all. This takes time to work out because I am so apt to shoot of and do things as I have always done, in my own strength. I might say that He is Lord but the outcome tells me if He really is. If I have health issues because of stress, then perhaps I have been relying on my own strength and not His. If I ...

Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honour. Romans 12:9,10 I have a natural family of which I am the eldest of six. My mum is still alive at 80. At times I am constrained to spend time with mum, I sense she needs time and invariably she does. There are times when my siblings and I do not communicate much at all but when needed we are there. In the body of Christ we are a family. There is church family and a wider body family. We will all sit down together in eternity. There are times when we will disagree and go our separate ways but our mouths should not like to pull down or gossip, this is devils work. When we behave just as worldly folk they mock us and we are tools of the enemy to mock the Gospel. Each of us has a place in Christ and each of us must honour the place of others, even if we would like that place ourselves. I must be true to myself and not deceive myself into thinking arrogantly or with puffed up thoughts ab...

Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Romans 12:9 Lately I am seeing posts on Twitter about the death of Rick Warren's son and mentions about his enemies (fellow Christians) gloating. How horrid! I know myself when my enemies are injured the thoughts come and I have to choose not to say those thoughts because they are full of venom and we know where venom comes from, the pit! We are told in the book of James why fights arise. Do you remember? Let's review them shall we? What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don't they come from the cravings that are at war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don't receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires. James 4:1-3 We must know ourselves and not be deceived into thinking we are good, only God is good, we are redeemed! And r...

According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: if prophesy, use it according to the standard of one's faith; if service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhortation, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness. This is where we must know ourselves and not think too highly of ourselves. If we think we should be used as teachers then is their evidence of this in our lives, have we been recognised and approved as a teacher? If we think we should be a leader do we already have a following that is godly and bearing good fruit? Are we leading with diligence or are we spasmodic? Have we investigated mercy? Giving? Service? Exhortation? The gift of exhortation is so much appreciated and so little used, it lifts people up! Are you sure this is not your gift laying idle? The gift of service edifies the leaders no end, are you sure you are not called to serve and bless others? The gift of giving showers ...

Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts. Romans 12:4-6 Some parts of my body are hidden but I am so grateful they are there. Some are obvious but only serve in a limited or unglamorous way. The skin, the largest organ has a huge job and it differs depending on need. For example the soles of my feet need to be tougher than the skin on my face, the skin on my feet is hidden from view but vital for ambulation. The creator of all things built a great unit when He built mankind, we are unique. The more I study the human body, the more I am amazed at the mind of God. As each part of me functions as a part of the whole, so does the church. A church that harmonises in service is a true blessing indeed. I love to be a part of such a wonder and love to function in it, in the capacity tha...

For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. Romans 12:3 Thinking sensibly, not emotionally is a challenge, but is the key. So much of our thinking is either pain driven or excitement about a new experience. There is a whole track through the middle that demands thought. How do I think correctly? What does the word of God say? Am I surrounding myself with sound, logical voices?  Who do I listen to? What is the authority in my life? If my emotions rule, I am in trouble and torn between feelings of greatness and feelings of failure. So, in one day I can be Lady Muck and Cinderella. A recipe for disaster? My bible tells me: ' I am the righteousness of God in Christ'. But logic must then demand I investigate how I should behave. Reading the gospels I see how the Son of God behaved, reading the epistles I am taught how to beh...

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 If we conform to the world then we cannot discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God is. We deceive ourselves if we think we can do both. How then can we discern the will of God? By being transformed! How are we transformed? By renewing our minds! How do we renew our minds? Feed it God stuff and determine to digest it, hang out in good, clean places with people of faith. You mean live at church? No! But it is a good place to start. Do an inventory of what you watch, read and who you write to and talk to. Is it good? Does it build up your faith? Don't be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals. Do you want to know he mind of God? Then morph!  His way is the only way!  Amen!

Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 I have heard, several times, that if a 'therefore' is in the scripture, you need to find out what it is there for. In the case above, 'therefore' is tying in verses 11:33-36 the last of which says: for from Him, and through Him and to Him are all things.' Therefore we need to present our bodies as living sacrifice in honour. What does this mean? Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, presented His body for physical sacrifice and now that we are His brethren we must submit our bodies as 'spiritual sacrifice'. We don't need to be nailed to a tree but we need to die to the fleshly ways. Is there any area where we refuse to give up our fleshly lusts? Be it coffee, chocolate, overeating, lustful thoughts, carnal appetites, excessive leisure, as in a belief I can sit and watch 6 hours TV an...

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!  How unsearchable His judgements and untraceable His ways! For who has known the mind of The Lord? Or who has been His counsellor? Or who has ever first given to Him, And had to be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. amen! God"s ways are inscrutable and yet there are those that dare to try. What hardens men's hearts? James tells us 'the deceitfulness of sin'. As we continue in a sin, be it an attitude or behaviour and have success in it, then our success deceives us into thinking we are a master and not a slave, which in fact we have become. Yet, has anyone been successful in bringing God down to earth? Has anyone lent to God and then had Him obliged to repay? Whether we like it or not, God is the creator, the Mastermind.  I give Him all the glory for He is good! Amen!

And Isaiah says boldly: I was found by those who were not looking for Me; I revealed Myself to those who were not asking for Me. Romans 10:20 (is 65:1) May the power of the Word change hearts and minds today. Lord I ask for salvation today. Be great in Your word! Your blood soaked word paid the price for souls to come to you, it throbs with the life of Christ. It is full if compassion and desire. Anoint Your word! sharpen Your word in the mouths of the preachers! May life flow forth and all it touches be changed. Amen! I ask for souls today! Amen!

For everyone who calls on the name of The Lord will be saved. But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:13,14 Today people heard about Christ. Today, their journey begins.  I remember how as a trainee nurse I had two Christians preach Christ to me and not religion. Yes, I fought them, but I also knew they had something I wanted. People know about Jesus, loosely, but they do not know Him, as I did not know Him. We have to give our friends, family and community an opportunity to genuinely know Him, for it is knowing Him that makes the difference. He is the difference! Amen!

Do not say in your heart, 'who will go up to heaven? that is to bring Christ down or, 'who will go down into the abyss? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:6-9 Before having a relationship with Christ, I struggled to find Him. I wondered what I had to do to find Him, where I had to go, to find Him, but, He found me! The message was near me, in my heart, all He had to do was reveal Himself to me. Today people will hear the Gospel and my prayer is that they will hear something they have never heard before, the Saviour's voice calling them. The word of God is mighty to save! This is the Lord's show, He will be revealing Himself to souls today. My prayer is that they have ears to hear ...

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God concerning them (Israelites) is for their salvation! I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Because they disregarded the righteousness from God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves to God's righteousness. Romans 10:1-3 I know we'll what Paul is writing about. Growing up a zealous Catholic, going to mass by choice by myself, midweek as a primary school student, I was zealous. I only knew law and works and had to come to the end of them before I could understand relationship. I then knew I could not be good enough, for I failed, miserably. When He showed me my sin I wanted His peace and His presence. I am so looking forward to tomorrow. today The Lord led me to invite a man to DivorceCare. I have never had Him so interested in someone. this person I have prayed for, led by the spirit, many times. Today The Lord whispered to me...

I will call 'Not my People', My People, and she who is 'Unloved', Beloved. And it will be in the place where they were told, 'you are not My People', they will be called 'sons of the living God'. Romans 9:26 (Hosea 1:10) Tomorrow I begin another DivorceCare group. Again I have many non-Christians coming. I have been praying for them and for the Word of God captured in the DivorceCare material. This time I have faithful people praying for me, those that come and the word that is spoken. praise God! The above scripture is prophesy from the Old Testament, the book of Hosea. Yet prophesy is 'living and active'. It is the word of God spoken to the prophet Hosea. I love prophesy, I sense the living power of God, it is potent. Tomorrow I would see ' Not My People' become 'My People'. In the gospels I see the love of God displayed in the actions of Christ, but the words He spoken are life and freedom. God's word is living a...

What should we say then? Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness- namely the righteousness that comes from faith. But Israel, pursuing the law for righteousness , has not achieved the righteousness of the law. Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. Romans 9:30-32 I have struggled with most of this chapter, chapter 9, until, the above verses. The chapter, basically says, God is God, It is His show and He can have mercy on whomever He wants. But, because this is not the God I know I needed more. Yes, on the face of it, it appears, that God is doing His own thing, in arrogance. However, we need to look underneath the covers. He sees what we do not see, He hears what we do not hear. If we, think that we can fool God, even if we can fool our friends and family, then we fool ourselves. Do I refuse to come to God in faith? Do I expect Him to be satisfied with ...

Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!   Romans 8:35-39 Do you think Paul has covered everything? I think he would speak more to the ease of life, if he were around today, and perhaps offence. Two biggest killers of passion for Christ. However, do you get the picture? God's love is hard to remove from our lives, it is like the irresolvable goo that we cannot clean up, only purer, more beautiful, more edifying. I love these passages because they reveal my Lord, His nature and His way. He is so good! It seems that He is unable to turn away, to be otherwise preoccup...

Who can bring an accusation against God's elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Romans 8:33,34 Imagine yourself being dragged into court by a nasty piece of work; he showers vindictive accusations against you and you bow low knowing you are guilty then a light shines on you as a door is opened and a court officer rushes forward towards the magistrate. There is a hush as everyone is watching. The judge stands and  says: ' this is very unusual and has never, to my knowledge, happened before. You are free to go.' Everyone gasps, your eyes bulge and your jaw drops. 'how can this be?' You ask. The judge looks bewildered, but says, ' a man has come forward and claims he is the guilty party and has turned himself in. He is now in the cells below awaiting trial. You know you are guilty and deserve punishment, you d...

He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything.  Romans 8:32 You could be suspicious of a Father who allows His Son to die on a cross for all humanity, especially if you are a parent. I remember, as a young mum, reading this and clutching my children to me in horror. I am sorry to say it but to me you were not worth that sacrifice but to Him you were. The Father knew more than we do. He knew the power of the Spirit in Christ and knew He would not remain dead but would accomplish the deeper magic, as C.S. Lewis put it in the Tales of Narnia. The perfect, sinless sacrifice was the price required for sin and when it was paid it was paid for all mankind, for all time. Amen! So, if the 'deeper magic' was a part of the plan, was there more? Yes! Oh Yes! We weren't set free from sins clutches and then left hanging. We are invited in to the presence of the Father, into a relationship with Him. A rela...

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Romans 8:31 Tonight I watched a U-tube video clip by Joseph Prince. He was preaching about us being seated in Heavenly places with Christ, far above satan and his hoards, far above natural enemies, at rest from all our labours.   I was reminded that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. My enemy was having a go at me and I had to be reminded to straighten out my thinking. There are times of peace, when our enemy leaves for a time but then there are intense times when we need to get out the sword and whack him one. Remember our sword is the word of God. Amen! We have to discern what is actually going on and not treat everything naturally. Amen! You need to be in the word of God and stay alert for your enemy prowls around like a roaring lion. Note: roaring lion not tearing lion. He is always noisy!

For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined He also called; and those He called, He also justified, and those He justified, He also glorified. Romans 8:29,30   I once had someone say to me: 'If seems unfair that God knows who He is going to call to Himself!' I explained: 'It isn't those God gets picky but that He can see out of all He loves who will want to know Him'.   All are welcome but not all will want to know Him. However, He can see, down through time, those who will respond and those He predestines to be conformed to the image of His Son. If we come to Him then we need to become like Him.   When we come to Christ and believe on Him and His sacrifice for our sins then we are justified, cleansed from all wrongdoing and He fills us with His Holy Spirit as a seal of redemption, we are then filled with His glory. How cool is that? ...

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28   Not everything in life is good, and not everything is a blessing but God uses even the evil man for a purpose.   Now, going through extreme pain and seeing nothing but hardship can limit our vision but God is above our momentary view, He sees what we can become through this harsh experience, if we will but trust.   I am called according to His purpose. He has a plan. As I trust Him, stick close to Him, I know I am safe even in the storms of life. He is my provider, my counsellor, my protector.   He has my end in sight, I have my now in sight but as I trust Him with the big picture, all things work out for my good. Amen!  

In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit's mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26,27   We not only have a saviour but we also have an advocate in the Holy Spirit.   Our prayers are littered with me, mine, my but the Holy Spirit knows the plans the Father has for us and knows what shape we need to be in the receive that promise.   If we are totally overweight and unfit then to marry that prince or princess, or to have them even notice us, we must be in a shape they are looking for. To get into shape requires pain because we have let ourselves go too far.   If it is this way in the natural realm how much more so is it in the realm of the spirit. If God has planted in you a seed of greatness then you have to be made ...